Our Philosophy

At Eltham South Preschool, we embrace both the Victorian and National Early Years Learning Frameworks.

Early Childhood is a time of Belonging, Being and Becoming.

Belonging is the basis for living a fulfilling life. Children feel they belong because of the relationships they have with their family, community, culture and place.

Being is about living here and now. Childhood is a special time in life and children need time to just ‘be’ time to play, try new things and have fun.

Becoming is about the learning and development that young children experience. Children start to form their sense of identity from an early age, which shapes the type of adult they will become.

To grow, develop and learn children need to experience play based learning that is engaging and builds success for life. Play is a means for exploring, creating, discovering, imagining and communicating as they begin to understand the world and community they are a part of.

As educators we:

use our professional judgement to support children’s learning and development through a combination of child led and adult led play based learning.

aim to work in partnership with families to develop a learning program responsive to children’s ideas, interests, strengths and abilities through play.

embrace diversity and respect the backgrounds and cultures of all families whilst ensureing cultural awareness and acceptance.

aim to work collaboratively to share information and plan to ensure holistic approaches to children’s learning and development. This enables us to build on children’s prior learning and experiences and build continuity for their learning during their time at Eltham South Preschool and as they make their transition to school.

aim to ensure that all children experience success in their learning and development. We recognise that all children can learn through a variety of learning styles but some children require quite different opportunities and supports to do this.

aim to provide a healthy and stimulating environment and to form secure, trusting relationships with all children. Such relationships help children to feel safe and confident to try new things and to learn.

continually reflect upon and develop our professional knowledge and skills to enable us to provide the best possible learning and development opportunities for the children.
regularly reflect on the children’s learning and development, what they are ready to learn and how they can be supported.

encourage healthy eating and promote active play every day.

encourage a balanced apporach to being sun-smart, to help maintain levels of vitamin D whilst ensuring appropriate sun protection measures, especially during Terms 1 and 4 of the school year. We are a “Sunsmart” Pre School.

There are 5 outcomes that describe the key elements of children’s learning and development in which our reflections are based on.

These are:

Outcome 1 – Identity – Children have a strong sense of identity

Outcome 2 – Community – Children are connected with and contribute to their world

Outcome 3 – Wellbeing – Children have a strong sense of well being

Outcome 4 – Learning – Children are confident and involved learners

Outcome 5 – Communication – Children are effective communicators

At Eltham South:

We are fortunate to have a delightfully large, natural outdoor playground with scope for gross motor skills such as running, climbing and digging as well as spaces for small, cosy play such as “cooking”, “tea parties” and constructing.

Our program includes music every day, provided by our teachers who attend music conferences each year to keep current with music education.

Our indoor space is architect designed and in keeping with the local character of Eltham. It also features a finial on the roof created by a local artist, Matcham Skipper. The building is of historical and heritage significance, as it is triangular – one of a kind! The architect planned it with no right angles, believing it would create a harmonious play space for children. We certainly agree that it is a beautiful place to play and work each day!

Eltham South Preschool has strong links to our local community which include local schools, community organisations, and a warm welcoming atmosphere.